City Council

5:48afternoon slash evening everybody it is Tuesday September 16th 2025 it is 530

5:55we are here for our city council meeting and right off the top we're looking to move into

6:00a closed session it's under only two items the first one is appointments to transportation

6:06advisory committee and the economic development and tourism advisory committee which is section

6:11239 2b of the municipal act regarding personal matters about an identifiable individual including

6:18municipal or local board employees and the second one is the non-union municipal employee group

6:24compensation review that's under section 239 2d of the municipal act regarding labor relations

6:31or employee negotiations now before I look to see if there's a vote to move into closed session on

6:36those two items is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest or any general nature there of for those

6:43I don't hear or see any before I ask for that vote I do want to state that councillor

6:50Koran has sent in regrets and with that would someone be willing to thank you councillor Allt

6:56thank you councillor Klassen so it's moved and seconded and I'll call the vote is anyone against

7:01moving into closed session nobody that's unanimous so we will move into closed session under those

7:07two items only we'll do a review or a high-level review when I come back out of closed session thank

7:13you so much all right good evening everybody uh just before we start the open session we went into

37:04a closed session at 530 and we went into a closed session of council under uh two items the appointments

37:12to transportation advisory committee and economic development and tourism advisory committee

37:17and then also the other item was a non-union municipal employee group compensation review

37:24and so even though we had the discussion in camera we're actually bringing both of those

37:28items out here to vote on them publicly okay so I'd like to start with the appointments to the

37:35transportation advisory committee and the economic development and tourism advisory committee and

37:40councillor Caton is going to table that for us thank you um I'd like to table that Nicole

37:49debtler and chelsea nwals be appointed to the economic development and tourism advisory committee

37:54for a term ending november 2026 or until such time as successors are appointed and that joel

38:01meyer and chelsea edwards be appointed to the transportation advisory committee for a term

38:05ending november 2026 or until such time as successors are appointed great anyone want to

38:13do help me second that one councillor hauser will second that for us thank you anything further on

38:18that hearing none i'll call the vote on that is anyone against those appointments

38:24none that's unanimous so we'll move on to the second one i'll go to councillor

38:29galler to table the non-union municipal employee group compensation review

38:33motions please go ahead through worship that staff be directed to update the list of comparator

38:39municipalities used for all future comparison extra spaces including city council renumeration

38:45and the executive team is delegated to update the list as required two that staff be directed to

38:51conduct a market survey to determine competitiveness of the city's non-union municipal employee

38:56group benefits and three that staff be directed to conduct a total compensation reviews pain

39:02benefits instead of only salary reviews in accordance with the established schedule every four years

39:08thank you seconder for that one uh claustin we'll do that thank you so anything further on that

39:15one before i call the vote councillor gibson do you mind separating them please sure no problem

39:21all right i'm going to separate uh the vote for the first one so is anyone against that one

39:26okay just one councillor gibson so that passes may i combine both two and three together

39:35yes okay i'll call the vote on two and three together is anyone against those motions

39:40nobody that's unanimous that passes as well thank you very much so that's the summary for closed

39:45session for everybody uh so welcome now we'll call the meeting to order for our open session

39:51of council and we're going to start with uh if you're able to stand for recognizing our national

39:59anthem great thank you just as we continue a moment of silent reflection great thank you

41:45and for our territorial acknowledgement as we gather let us take time to reflect on the privilege

41:49to live and work here in guelph the city built over rich indigenous histories

41:53for guests here and to reflect upon the responsibility to care for the land and the people who live

41:57here today and the generations to come if our actions today can move us towards reconciliation

42:03we should take pause and make those decisions with intention and gratitude this place we call

42:08guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time but more

42:12specifically the anoan rock and the honan shoni the land is held as the treaty lands and territory

42:19with the mississaugas of the credit first nation and guelph lies directly adjacent to the haulderman

42:23track as part of a long established traditional hunting grounds for the six nations of the grand

42:28river many first nations inuit and matee people who have come from across turtle island call guelph

42:34home today now is there any uh pecuniary interest or any general nature thereof for the items in

42:42front of us today no okay so this is uh this is a moment where the mayor gets very embarrassed because

42:53uh i forgot all my notes on my desk upstairs so i am going to run upstairs

43:03i'm going to go to my room and clean it and find my notes and uh i realized halfway through

43:09old canada i was like oh did you know did you notice i was singing whole canada in my head i'm like

43:15shoot i forgot my notes upstairs so um counselor downer can i put you on the spot would you mind

43:22sharing for me and could you help counsel maybe just continue to go through some of the consent

43:28items and you'll never see a mayor run so fast in his life pardon calling's gone up okay hopefully

43:39she knows where it is okay we will continue it's going to be worth the wait the notes are fantastic

43:46okay so just bear just bear with me everybody uh i will continue with the meeting on some of

43:52the consent items that we have maybe just to kind of continue the meeting and we'll we'll see if we

43:56can get that calling can hopefully find them uh let's move just to the consent agenda then from

44:04committee we have the graffiti bylaw the facility's cleaning service value for money audit

44:12and the 2025 second quarter budget monitoring report uh and then the other one is the multi

44:18residential property tax subclass discounts for affordable housing and there's a memo attached

44:26to that now i i already know in advance i think counselor katin you want to pull the uh multi

44:31residential property tax subclass report does anyone want to pull any of the other ones though

44:39no would somebody willing to move consent on that one for me then okay goller and i'll look over here

44:44okay alt thank you is there anything further on those items

44:49no okay i'll call the vote on everything there is anyone against those reports hearing and seeing

44:58none that's unanimous so uh counselor katin just just we'll we'll come back to you i've circled it

45:04but just one second okay let's move to the city council appointments to the board of trustees

45:15of the elliott and the well interference committee very prestigious committee

45:25as you know we have these vacant because counselor dominique orork is now our mp

45:33and so uh we need to look to fill those spots uh in speaking with counselor hauser who has taken

45:42over for councillor orork um she has indicated her interest in both of those spots which is nice

45:50but i do have a little bit of oh everyone clap for calling right now

45:56thank you oh these are the wrong notes i'm just kidding i'm just kidding thank you calling

46:05so uh counselor hauser has agreed to let her name stand now there is kind of a a process here

46:11so um may i just uh confirm with you counselor hauser that you'd like your name to stand for

46:16both of those could you just put your mic on and say yes yes okay and uh i will just ask now is

46:21there anyone else on council that is interested in those two spots hearing none can i have someone

46:29move to okay alt and a goller okay uh and so congrats on that we'll call the well congrats

46:37in a minute i'll call the vote see if you pass all right is anyone against the appointments for

46:42counselor hauser to those those two committees that's unanimous all right thank you for filling the void

46:49on on those thank you all right so what i'm going to do is i'm going to go jump back now to the awards

46:57at the beginning as if the mayor did not forget the notes and then we'll jump back into the rest

47:03of our agenda after that okay everybody thank you very much for for going with me here all right

47:11clerks are you ready all right the first one we have up here and please forgive me if i say the

47:18wrong name for it's about say the wrong name of the name of your last name i'm going to try

47:23navika ranganathan am i close yes i got a thumbs up all right so navika was inspired by the chest

47:33classes as part of the guelph's city recon role program and her recent achievement is winning

47:40the u8 girls championship title at the canadian youth chest championships held in surrey bc

47:48with a record of five wins no losses and two draws getting to the championship was not an easy

47:57journey from air traffic controller strike in france to cancel flights to extreme jet lag and a

48:04long journey but when she held the trophy that is almost half of her size all those challenges

48:12vanished all of her hard work paid off and navika will now represent canada in the fide the feed world

48:21cadets in kasistan later this month from guelph let's give it up congratulations that is amazing

48:40good for you we will get you the city uh the city award here in just one second okay got a few more

48:47go our city is full of awesome people so just here's the next one okay so this is how bond

48:55so over the past several decades how bond has served as an international chess arbiter tournament

49:03organizer educator and advocate representing guelph and canada at the highest levels of the game

49:09he has been a leader both on and off the board having officiated world championship events and

49:15served as president of the chess federation of canada and played a pivotal role in mentoring

49:20local youth and volunteers his tireless efforts have helped shape generations of players uplifted

49:27our local chess culture and brought national and international acclaim to our city earlier this

49:33year how was inducted into the canadian chess hall of fame an honor that reflects his status as one

49:39of the most respected figures in canadian chess history despite his global engagements mr bond

49:45has remained deeply rooted in our community mr bond uh has helped found events like the kitchener

49:52chess festival and co-organizing the royal city masters tournament right here in guelph he has

49:59worked with local schools community organizations and service clubs to make chess accessible to

50:04children and families from all backgrounds let's give it up for health all right is nathan here

50:20there you are nathan nathan scophers now this should not be everyone should know this name

50:26because this guy is winning the world everywhere nathan recently represented team canada at the

50:332025 world taekwondo championships held in scotland earning a gold medal in adult male

50:40black belt fighting the only canadian male competitor to claim a gold medal the event

50:47brought together over 3500 competitors from more than 30 countries making this a truly

50:52remarkable international accomplishment nathans win not only highlights his world-class talent

50:58but also reflects his years of dedication as a mentor a youth leader here in our community

51:04and he's a huge advocate through his work with the guelph family martial arts let's give it up for

51:09nathan congratulations and finally the guelph royals 14 under 14 tier one you're here right

51:25okay good the 2025 season of the guelph royals uh the under 14 tier one team began in january with

51:34a clear message play for the name on the front of the jersey not the one on the back through

51:41commitment daily improvement and a team first mentality the players earned the opportunity

51:47to compete for and win in the final game of the year season highlights include a tournament

51:53championship in brantford competing against the older under 15 teams in guelph a memorial team

52:00bonding trip to cedar point and finishing the season as the provincial champions in brantford

52:06congratulations to the entire team to all of the players and i'll say your names all in in a

52:12moment to all the coaches and it's not in my notes here but to all the parents too i think you'll

52:18appreciate that because i know what that's like as well let's give it up for for the team the

52:22baseball team so i'm going to come on down and uh we have some city medals to give out to everybody

53:17so if i if i say your name feel free to come down actually maybe we should do it in front of the

53:23guelph let's do that we'll do we'll do it over there okay so come on feel free to come down

53:29and i did the ramp or the stairs here and then we can go to the backdrop here and then if you're

53:33like a family member that wants to come and take a picture or whatever totally fine come on down

53:38and follow and and you can do that okay uh oh we have we have a keener here okay perfect but the

53:44first one is navica where is navica are you coming so for this one i'll do it a little bit different

58:02okay i'll yell all the names out you can all come down and gather right here in the middle okay and

58:07then that way if the parents want to like be up there for a picture of everyone plus it puts

58:11all of council on the spot that they have to have to smile because they'll be in the picture okay

58:16uh so brady is it mo's am i saying mo's right am i saying that right yes come on down brady

58:26i will i will right what position do you play short stop short stop good job good job

58:35you're gonna stand right in the middle of an okay all right uh brady and calder here is brady in here

58:41yeah what position do you play

58:55and uh we got another brady brady and paul

59:17okay and dentin mcmillan all right next up is uh gabe cherry am i saying that right yes gabe couldn't

59:41make it we'll make sure that that's good and what about uh you know what tell tell gabe that

59:52nothing was given at all he won't he won't even know won't even know we just clapped that's it

59:56is jack rodent here yes and leon spira what position are you short stop really you're

1:00:25really six feet tall all right that's awesome good job good job it's taller than me all right

1:00:34and we got luc uh bromley center center jim congratulations there you go good job

1:00:56all right mason levins perfect okay almost there everybody

1:01:16row and where i know rowan how are you you know that

1:01:38congratulations all right

1:01:43tyler demarin tyler demarin here nice to meet you what position do you play picture picture all

1:01:54right and it's right that's of course all right i like that i like that that's good all right and

1:02:02we have the final here is will stevens will come on down thank you sir nice to meet you

1:02:17more position do you put second second okay

1:02:21congratulations let's uh everyone together we'll we'll do one picture then we'll do the coaches

1:02:29as well in the second okay all right you're ready all right stay there we'll get your coaches to

1:02:49come down too okay blare mcmillan come on down the head coach how are you

1:03:09congratulations gotta do this whole thing so there you go thank you so much all right yeah

1:03:13stand stand with the guys here all right mic mic roden i come on down

1:03:32thank you very much jack just quick we'd like to thank you for having us today yeah very appreciate

1:03:37the boys have signed a ball for you oh wow that's awesome thank you that's awesome that will go

1:03:49right upstairs in the mayor's office and uh when you're all playing in the majors i will not sell

1:03:55it on ebay all right thank you tonight yep all right jair where's jeremy jeremy where come on down

1:04:06come on down jerry it's kind of a special moment we were friends in high school growing up together

1:04:21yeah he helped trim my basement one day

1:04:32who would have known hey that's so great okay and now we got jeff uh most and then after that would

1:04:39be brad cherry so jeff is brad here or no okay no problem congratulations thank you yeah nice to

1:04:55there you are awesome thank you very much there you go thank you let's do it together if you talk

1:05:01all right is everyone good okay let me give these medals to

1:05:29well thank you very much for being here and thank you much for this ball that's a very special so

1:05:33thank you and thank you for all the parents and everyone everyone that was recognized today all

1:05:38of council really appreciates what you do when you when you wear and you represent the city of

1:05:43guelph it actually means a lot you are like an ambassador for our city and so you when you go

1:05:49outside of our city and you're you're playing in that way you're you're representing guelph and that

1:05:54means a lot so and it means even more when you come home with a gold or something like that yeah

1:05:59but we appreciate what you're doing and good luck to you all of you in the future um as well okay

1:06:03so thank you very much everyone for being here if you want to stay for the rest of the council

1:06:07meeting you can but we're talking like taxes and all that kind of stuff so you can stay but this

1:06:12might be a good time if you want to to to go that it might be the perfect time to do that okay so

1:06:17thank you very very much okay everyone thank you again and we're just going to jump back we're

1:07:31going to do the minutes the minutes of the open council meeting held July 15th 16th 22nd and 23rd

1:07:392025 and the open minutes of the committee of the whole meeting July 8th 2025 um as amended be

1:07:47confirmed as recorded and without being read thank you Councillor Boussatill seconded by

1:07:52Councillor Allt can I call the vote on that everybody yep okay I'll call the vote is anyone

1:07:59against nope that's unanimous thank you and now why don't we jump back Councillor Kate and thank

1:08:07you for your patience there on what is it what's the title of that again multi residential property

1:08:16subclass discounts for affordable housing would you would you at least Councillor

1:08:22Kate and just move the move the main motion just to get it on the floor before we open up

1:08:26conversation absolutely who would like to second that Richardson okay and then over to you Councillor

1:08:34Kate I have three additional motions to move I don't know how you want to handle that if you

1:08:42would like us to do this first actually let me just actually I would say that those are separate

1:08:48yes so why don't I just open up the floor quickly to see if there's is there any questions on the

1:08:53main motion no okay and the memo I think certainly helped too that was attached so um what I'll do

1:09:00is I'll call the vote then on the main motion okay is there anyone against that's nobody so that's

1:09:06great that's unanimous so now as a separate a separate options Councillor Kate you have

1:09:13three motions that you want to consider tabling I'll turn the floor over to you thank you if you

1:09:20could put those on the screen please clerks thanks so I'm just going to do a kind of preamble for

1:09:27all of them we we have this amazing program and an ability to help people put forward affordable

1:09:38rentals and I think that it would be fantastic if the provincial government helped us do that by

1:09:50one on the first motion to help those who are currently in their own homes

1:10:00to retain them who are on the Ontario works or the Ontario disability support program

1:10:06because they have limited means with which to pay their property taxes but also to

1:10:15adopt a grant program so that municipalities municipalities can further adopt this program

1:10:24without broadening the tax-based result to everybody else so this would be a grant program

1:10:33that would lower the taxes overall so that all the municipalities could adopt this subclass and then

1:10:41we could help get affordable rentals throughout the province and also I would like it if

1:10:49they would expand the program and match the municipalities who are adopting the subclass

1:10:57by doing a similar discount on the educational amount so that we can

1:11:02incent more affordable rentals throughout the province and I can read those individually out

1:11:10right now or if we would like to have some discussion first I'm happy to do that

1:11:15yeah no problem councillor Richardson would be happy to second all three

1:11:20so they're on technically on the floor now let me just open it up if there's any questions

1:11:27okay oh sorry councillor Pucitel yes thank you and through the mayor just a question on the first

1:11:33one it says joint social services I assume that is the joint social services and land ambulance

1:11:41committee and if so if that could be is that what you intended this is the joint committee

1:11:46between the city of Guelph and the county yes thank you and I just wanted to ask about the

1:11:58first one which I've lost the first one and so what you're looking for is

1:12:06property tax relief for homeowners whose income may be odsp or ontario works is that correct

1:12:15yes I'm hopeful that the province can create a program we do have other programs for folks that

1:12:22are seniors and this seems to be a group that is also in need of those and I would love it if we had

1:12:29an option for them provincially so they could get either rebates or grants or what have you

1:12:37thank you and I'll have comments later thank you okay um you can feel free to have comments now

1:12:42yet you have the floor go ahead thank you very much through the mayor just I am going to support

1:12:48the first motion I think I don't think it's out of the scope of the province as you mentioned does

1:12:54the seniors home tax program $500 and they've already got a mechanism it's done at tax time so

1:13:01you've got income household you've got all the information there as part of the tax program

1:13:06I know that on the joint social services land ambulance committee we've talked about

1:13:11advocating to the provincial government around raising ontario works and odsp rates

1:13:18doesn't look like that's on the horizon and I am very fearful for individuals with fixed income

1:13:25and their housing stability so I will be supporting number one okay thank you is there any other

1:13:31questions on any three or comments if not would you like me to separate them then councillor

1:13:39busitil so what I'll do is I'll call the vote on just number one okay is anyone against number one

1:13:48okay nobody so that's unanimous and then can I do two and three together councillor busitil

1:13:53or do you want me to do them separately as well no okay I'll call the vote on two and three together

1:13:59is anyone against that one okay so that's unanimous as well okay perfect um thank you

1:14:09uh thank you councillor kate you're good yep okay so with that all of those consent items now and

1:14:19and that one that's pulled forward from committee is done we are now to the last item on our agenda

1:14:29and yes it is road network maintenance levels of service councillor Goller is going to speak

1:14:38to this and then we have one delegation uh caren rathwell is caren here I don't have my glasses on

1:14:45yes I see you caren thank you for being here okay so um uh councillor Goller you're kind of

1:14:50wanting to introduce this so I'll just give you a few minutes to have a kind of a preamble to what

1:14:54you're trying to do thank you and then um and then we can uh then we can go to the delegation and

1:15:01then maybe then after that you can table it perfect okay well through your worship to my fellow

1:15:06councilors and gulf residents these motions are addressed and growing a silent threat to our

1:15:11environment which is road salt pollution the city is the leader in environmental stewardship and

1:15:17we're unique in our reliance on groundwater for drinking water supply this makes protecting

1:15:22our aquifers from chloride pollution a top priority the city of gulf is already committed to minimize

1:15:27assault use using modern equipment and best practices to keep our roads and sidewalks safe

1:15:32while protecting our local water sources however despite our best efforts at the municipal level

1:15:37the problem continues to worsen across the province for decades chloride levels have been

1:15:41rising in our rivers lakes and groundwater and while salt is essential for public safety a major

1:15:47contributing factor to this over salting is the current legal business climate that exposes winter

1:15:53maintenance contractors to unlimited liability from slip and fall lawsuits this fear of legal

1:15:59action leads to overuse of salt which harms our environment and makes it difficult for contractors

1:16:03to find affordable insurance this is a province wide problem that requires a provincial solution

1:16:09i wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the excellent work of the water watchers

1:16:13local gulf base ngo that is leading the charge on this issue they have been instrumental in

1:16:18raising awareness and coordinating this province wide advocacy campaign to address salt pollution

1:16:24the motions that i will be tabling ask the province to establish limited liability legislation

1:16:31tied to the mandatory training and certified best practices around winter maintenance on the use of

1:16:35salt to create a funded expert advisory committee to guide local provincial and municipal action on

1:16:42protecting our freshwater systems and reaffirms gulf's commitment to continuing to lead in this area

1:16:49so that is what i'll be introducing your worship great thank you very much

1:16:54why don't we ask uh karen rathwell from water watchers to come on down

1:16:59and uh delegate to this matter and karen uh i think you might know but uh it's up to five minutes

1:17:06no more than that and then uh there's a chime at the four minute thirty second mark to give

1:17:10you the thirty second warning okay so i'll turn it over to you thank you through you mayor good

1:17:15evening counselors thank you councillor grigo my name is karen rathwell um i'm a long serving member

1:17:22of water watchers and a member of the ontario salt pollution coalition and i'm here tonight

1:17:27to speak in support of the motion that's before you i'll talk a little bit about the salt pollution

1:17:34in general but i also want to connect it to our local impact and why this motion is uh really

1:17:41the a simple way to usher some solutions to the problem in uh how do i

1:17:49hear um road salt in 1999 was designated a substance a toxic substance under the

1:18:02canadian environmental protection act because of tangible threats including serious irreversible

1:18:10environmental damages and when you hear the word toxic tonight i'd like you to hear the word poison

1:18:16uh clearly what we've been already doing isn't working and uh the comments that you see on the

1:18:24screen so sorry how do i go back yes the comments that you see on the screen are comments from

1:18:37a joint source water protection meeting from the city of toronto credit valley and the central lakes

1:18:44association of in ontario and there were many comments during presented during this paper

1:18:50but they all sounded like there was going to be no solution unless we make a solution what we're

1:18:56doing does not work uh ontario's freshwater systems are in jeopardy and and in crying they uh

1:19:09ontario is canada's number one user of winter salt and we dump approximately 2.5 million tons

1:19:15of salt each winter into our freshwater system and this accounts for 50 percent of the salt that's

1:19:21used in canada the salt pollution never leaves our water system it just dissolves and changes the

1:19:27water's quality and once the chloride sodium is added to the environment it accumulates no wetlands

1:19:34plants or will filter out this pollution and there are limited expensive options to filter it

1:19:40mechanically even if a filtration system was viable in our communities we still need to dispose

1:19:47of the collected salt somewhere and it's still toxic poison wherever it lands currently there

1:19:54are no provincial policies or regulations for road salt salt distribution and we are our group is

1:20:02asking uh for the four uh points in the motion that has been presented here tonight the policy

1:20:10void that the province has has created a liability issues for snow and ice management contractors

1:20:17and one of the most egregious impacts of this policy void is its left municipalities out in the cold

1:20:23to deal with salt pollution issues locally without supportive policy that they need to be

1:20:28significantly effective ontario salt pollution coalition is asking municipalities for help to

1:20:39make this happen but we're not alone we're joined by landscape ontario professional organization

1:20:45whose members not only do winter maintenance but also see the effects of salt pollution on their

1:20:49landscape work in other seasons and want leadership from the province in particular landscape ontario

1:20:57members need to change the slip want to change the slip and fall litigation legislation which is

1:21:03currently forcing operators to pay outrageous insurance fees and penalties as noted in their

1:21:092023 policy report these operators have shared that they are directed by property owners to

1:21:15distribute unnecessary salt to protect them against slip and fall claims lots of the impacts of road

1:21:24salt are visible and we sadly have become to normalize these but there are also the hidden

1:21:31costs like the impacts to aquatic life in the food chain effects in particular the disruption

1:21:38of health of the zoo plankton at the bottom of the freshwater food chain which will have

1:21:43complicated consequences as chlorine and sodium levels rise there are primarily four groups the

1:21:52city the county private contractors and the public that apply road salt the city and the county are

1:21:59sensitive to how much salt goes on the roads because they also have to provide water for our

1:22:04communities but the private contractors and the public at large need more education in this regard

1:22:16well i'm just your time is up but you had some technical problems i'm gonna i'm gonna give you

1:22:21another 20 seconds okay go ahead well we've already mentioned that we want legislation of change and

1:22:27that little limited liability legislation has to be looked at this has already happened in new hampshire

1:22:34and its work successfully its way through the courts and as well in uh kebek in gatno kebek

1:22:40they've made changes to where there is limited salt put down in certain roads and certain neighborhoods

1:22:47which is also becoming very effective to keep the water out of our streams and our waterways

1:22:53there are some of the signs that are are used in these communities which warn people that these

1:22:58roads are not salted and i'm asking tonight that you would think very um positively about the

1:23:08motion that's being presented and vote to have the province make some provincial changes that

1:23:14need to happen thank you great thank you carine is there any follow-up question council or altas

1:23:21thank you very much mayor guthrie first of all thank you to um miss rathwell water watches

1:23:27and other advocacy groups for bringing this forward but there's one thing that that i need

1:23:32clarification on because the language is ambiguous and i'll ask staff about this as well limited

1:23:38liability can mean two things less liability for accidents or less liabilities for the city if we use

1:23:47if we use less salt or limiting the liability in in such a fashion that um uh basically we're

1:23:55letting uh contractors everyone off if somebody gets injured what do we mean by limited liability

1:24:00because i want to protect the public and i also want to protect uh the environment right and i can

1:24:09see whether some confusion with the limited liability part it's limiting how much uh a claim

1:24:15could be given certain circumstances if a contractor has proven that they've given due diligence they've

1:24:21done their part uh they don't need to pour down carpets of salt that's a visual thing and we don't

1:24:27need that much salt it turns into brine it disappears but it's still effective but we need to get public

1:24:33education on that so we need to limit the the amount that these contractors can get sued for

1:24:38because i understand a four hundred thousand dollar lawsuit up in muscoca when a neighbor

1:24:44slipped on a neighbor's front steps that friendships over and and it's just you know we have to be

1:24:50reasonable about this about where this insurance thing is going and not follow the neighbor our

1:24:56neighbors to the south where everything becomes litigation i don't disagree with that another

1:25:01question for both you and our staff as well um can you provide some examples of alternatives

1:25:08to salting that can be used well yeah thank you councillor Allt and we have been asked this a lot

1:25:14and there are some alternatives and i've heard about different jurisdictions that have used

1:25:17beet juice or believe it or not way way from cheese making and so on but you know with this kind of

1:25:24thing you've also got a negative outcome as well and think of the cheese way that's got to get smelly

1:25:30come the spring so i don't think there's easy answers and people are working on this i just

1:25:35spoke with somebody at u g that says we're working hard on this and the answers we're looking for is

1:25:41to minimize the salt we're still going to need it but there are things that are happening in

1:25:45gattano where they're not putting salt down in neighborhoods that have access right up to the

1:25:50creek for instance um i'm just thinking of along stevens in there along elizabeth and those those

1:25:55walter and those little streets down there little streets like there they're flat there's no hails

1:26:00there's not a great deal of um possibility of if they're cleared and they tell the neighbors ahead

1:26:06of time as they've done in gattano this will not be salted we'll put down a little bit of traction

1:26:10for you yes but you have to drive we all have to drive slower come winter just as we would do

1:26:16we're doing something in another sport while we're driving in the winter we slow down

1:26:20interestingly enough and i heard danie say this so i looked it up there are fewer accidents in the

1:26:25winter almost half as many accidents traditionally in the winter in ontario in the automobile

1:26:32accidents because people are driving slower and now we're all driving slower because our

1:26:36community's got calming and it's really making a difference in our neighborhood i've noticed it

1:26:43thank you very much and thank you for your advocacy thank you all right thank you i see

1:26:50nothing further so it's back to us so councillor Goller i know you're moving it and uh worked with

1:26:56this with councillor Caton as a seconder am i correct yep councillor Caton thumbs up from

1:27:00you you're okay with that okay perfect uh is there any questions uh to staff that are relevant

1:27:08go ahead thank you very much margothry through you too i believe it's miss clack um i i'm supportive

1:27:16of the motions but i want to be very very clear that i have some concerns about the interpretation

1:27:20of liability and the alternatives that we might have including reduction or other substances

1:27:26i was wondering if you could comment on both of those so through the chair mr godfrey's going to

1:27:29come down and potentially help here to so to be clear we are not in a position tonight to speak

1:27:34to questions of liability um we don't have legal staff present and so we didn't prepare to answer

1:27:39that in advance what i do want to say though is uh the motions that i know and i don't want to speak

1:27:44for councillor goller but in working with the wellington water watchers this is primarily about

1:27:48contractors on private property not about what the city is doing and i just want to give that public

1:27:53reassurance um and to kudos to mr godfrey and his team and and doug can certainly give you more

1:27:58details if you would like um but the city we have done a significant effort in reducing our salt

1:28:04usage to apply the right materials at the appropriate levels based on weather conditions to find that

1:28:09balance between protecting um protecting our water supply but also making sure that our roads are

1:28:16safe and so this these motions that are before you calling on the province are about that limited

1:28:21liability for contractors on private property um it isn't uh and again i i don't mean to speak for

1:28:28the mover of the motion if councillor goller wants to say anything further um and also as i say

1:28:32mr godfrey's here if you have specific questions about what the city is doing um but i think we

1:28:38certainly can't speak to any questions about liability mr mr godfrey i think the second part

1:28:44of the question was like you know what is the city doing from an alternative point of view i'm sorry

1:28:49councillor altamai saying that correctly yeah okay uh through you married to councillor Allt as uh dc a o

1:28:56clack bush indicated we use the right materials at the appropriate levels based on the weather

1:29:02forecast and conditions in addition we do explore alternatives we have tried beet juice here in the

1:29:08past in guelph as you may be aware but we also work with uh both the university of guelph and

1:29:15external partners to look at ways to better measure road conditions and apply salt directly to the

1:29:23road where it's needed where it's and not where it's not so we're working on a number of projects that

1:29:30will will help reduce uh salt use we also train all staff to make sure that they're aware when it's

1:29:36appropriate to use salt and when it's not thank you i'm mega i do have a question or comment

1:29:43perhaps for the mover and the seconder um i am i'm a bit concerned uh having heard from this

1:29:50clack bush that what's not in the motions is this largely focuses upon private property unless i

1:29:56i missed it and i'm wondering whether we need to include that in there so it's not about private

1:30:06property it's about private contractors on okay to the mover uh through worship to councillor Allt

1:30:16there is a memo that's attached to this and the last motion says that the memo will go

1:30:20and the memo makes it very clear that this is about private contractors it's it's it's limited

1:30:27liability and as as uh our delegate from the water watchers spoke that the focus is that there needs

1:30:32to be a solution so that private contractors that are doing winter maintenance have the means

1:30:38including best practices so that that is where the limited liability comes in so that they can work

1:30:43better okay thank you and is there any other questions or comments call a class in please

1:30:53and then and then cate now for that yes thank you through you some mr marot um first of all

1:30:58i just would like to thank councillor Goller for his leadership on this i think that it's a big

1:31:04issue and if we don't deal with it now it's it can get a lot bigger and and it's going to be a future

1:31:10problem that will be could be dire um and thank you to the water watchers for your leadership as

1:31:16well in this in this in this area my question is for staff with regard to um i know we have a salt

1:31:22management plan i would i am curious and i think uh dc o you clad bush you spoke a little bit to that

1:31:28but i'm also curious a little bit about the education outreach um that we do or don't do as part of that

1:31:38through the mayor to the councillor as part of our source water protection we do provide information

1:31:44to property owners on how to protect wealth water and how to options for road salt in this on city's

1:31:51webpage okay um thank you great and kateen please thank you through you mr mayor i i also wanted to

1:32:01thank um councillor Goller and the water watchers for bringing this forward and i also wanted to

1:32:08call out that um the motions that we're passing here tonight include advocacy and inclusion of the

1:32:15disability community uh to make sure that this is something that is both environmentally sound

1:32:22and accessible and i really appreciate the addition of that in the motions thank you thank you is there

1:32:31anything further before i call the vote okay you get 30 seconds with me so i actually think this is a

1:32:38very relevant advocacy piece for a couple reasons number one um we're a groundwater community so if

1:32:46any community is going to like be jumping on this type of thing it should be us second i know you'll

1:32:52heard me say it before but before i was here i was an insurance broker for 16 years and i did a lot

1:33:00of insurance and commercial general liability for contractors that were doing snow removal

1:33:07everything that karen said at the microphone tonight and everything that the landscaping

1:33:11association of ontario and everything we're talking about here is a hundred percent true

1:33:17the liability costs were exorbitant as soon as you did snow removal and landscapers are some of

1:33:26them only do like the seasonal for the for the uh for the summer right summer fall cleanup

1:33:33i remember i remember the instant on the application you said and do you do snow removal

1:33:41if they said yes their liability so the costs went way up because of the liability exposure to

1:33:50these general contractors and these private companies that are doing it because of the

1:33:55out of control slip and fall claims that are occurring and then everyone pays at the end of

1:34:00the day so i think that this is actually one of the most relevant ones that have come forward for

1:34:06at least those two reasons in my mind i thank you to you karen and the group and thank you

1:34:13councillor Goller for this as well and i actually think that uh i'm glad to see that the ontario

1:34:18landscaping association and whatnot has been leading the charge on this as well and it's good

1:34:22that we're kind of all banding together you know all groups come in kind of flanking from the left

1:34:27and the right kind of trying to trying to push this forward and uh i'm very excited to hear and i

1:34:32did not know this from staff i did not know that there might be like research and development

1:34:37happening right here in our own backyard at the u of g that's fantastic that's that's great

1:34:42and if we can be a testing ground for that kind of stuff to partner on that that's that's fantastic

1:34:46to try to find different ways of of addressing this issue so thank you councillor Goller i

1:34:51appreciate it and with that i will call the vote is anyone against nobody that's unanimous thank

1:34:59you very much councillor howzer you're up for the bylaws tonight so they'll come on the screen

1:35:05and if you wouldn't mind reading that out for us that bylaws 2025 21136 21146 and 21150

1:35:16be approved subject to section 284.114 of the municipal act thank you i'm going to go with

1:35:25how about you downer he haven't all right downers gonna second those bylaws for us is anything on

1:35:30the bylaws hearing and seeing none i'll call the vote anyone against the bylaws

1:35:38nope okay did i just call the vote on that twice by accident maybe i asked if there's

1:35:44anything on it first and then i okay sorry sorry it's not like i left my notes on my desk upstairs

1:35:50or anything i have no mayor's announcement so i'm looking for adjournment i bet you councillor

1:35:56billings and councillor chou would move in second adjournment am i right councillor chou yes all right

1:36:05is anyone against adjournment nobody that's unanimous as well our meeting is over everyone

1:36:11have a great night thank you very much